IN my experience, tractors are not the main cause of congestion on Yorkshire's rural, single-carriageway A roads (Why do tractors have to slow down all traffic? Letters, October 13). It's rare to be stuck behind one for more than one or two miles before it turns on to a field or can be safely overtaken.

The big problems are HGVs and slow-moving cars. I often come up behind lorries joining the A19 at the Clifton roundabout, and am then stuck behind them all the way to Thirsk. The A64/A1/A168 is dual carriageway almost all the way - why can't they use that route, instead of delaying commuters on the A19?

A ban on HGVs using rural single carriageway A roads during peak hours, where an alternative route exists, would be a positive step. I bet the residents of Shipton and Thormanby wouldn't complain.

My other bugbear is cars, usually with older drivers, going inappropriately slowly for the road conditions. There is no excuse for driving at 40mph when the limit is 60, in clear, dry, daylight and in the absence of any other hazards.

In my opinion this is as antisocial and as dangerous as speeding and should be punished accordingly, not least because it provokes other drivers into unsafe overtaking, thereby endangering innocent third parties.

If it didn't cost me three times as much and take twice as long to commute by train as it does by car, the farmers, lorries and faffers could have the A19 to themselves.

Leo Enticknap, Bootham, York.

  • TRACTORS go slowly on the roads because they are often pulling very heavy loads, and their braking systems would be unable to safely stop in a short distance if going more than 15mph. Some tractors can do 40-50mph, but the driver would be bouncing about like a cork in the rough sea.

Drivers should not worry about a mere 15 minutes extra travelling time, and farmers cannot afford to pay staff overtime to drive outside normal working hours. If the roads are too narrow, that is not the farmers' fault.

D Quarrie, Lynden Way, York.